March 31, 2009

Sunset in Port Vila
My 31st birthday...
Alex and Rob (GAP Volunteers from England) on Paama killed Peep (the chicken Brianna bought for $4 at the mama's market) Sorry to the vegetarians.

Brianna (the volunteer who is a 40 minute walk from me) and I are plucking the chicken.

My Rural Training Center (RTC) classroom.


My amazing host family. Papa Isiah, Mama Eva, Sisters Lei Sal and Lisa, little bro John. Another 2 sisters and a brother are not in the photo. I make #7...the oldest but last born. They get a laugh when I say that. Yes, my papa caught those fish. yum.



Elsie is my closest girlfriend in Paama...she lives in a nearby village and I visit her and her family to drink kava often. She is from Pentcoste and has been in Paama for about 6 years and has lived in Port Vila. She's also the RTC homecare teacher.

Swimming in powder on New Year's Day...Bon Ani.


A bridesmaid bak bak egan (back again) :)








March 30, 2009

Tough days????

There are days when I feel utterly alone and down...thinking of home...family, friends and indulgences. Sweating, wearing PJ pants and socks to keep mosquitos away, inhaling mosquito coil fumes (can I get cancer from that?) And then struggling for acceptance and my place. I am the age of the mamas but do not have kids, nor can I relate to the 18-20 somethings. I have a blast with the kids but sometimes I just need adult conversation. I was never sure if hanging out with the men is okay with the very defined gender separation here. Then the slow pace of life..."island time" or black man time as they refer to it...is difficult for me as you probably know. I love being busy with a to do list, schedule but I am trying to embrace it. I've been sewing up a storm and reading...alot. 14 books so far.

After a struggling first couple months...I have since fallen deeply in love with my community and even think about how sad it will be to leave next year. I have found my place with the Mamas and go to SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) church which is all day on Saturday. I love the singing. We have service and then gather for lunch together on the church lawn surrounded by the lush hills of Paama. It's beautiful and peaceful. We storian (story on), laugh and rest. Then evening service.


I also have my time with the papas, uncles and avus (grand papas) over shells of kava. We story about politics, island life, the economy and custom stories underneath a star filled sky.


The kids...I have been teaching some at the primary school. There's only ONE teacher for 30 kids, grades 1-6, though she only teaches lessons for 2, 4 and 6 so that 1 and 2 are combined, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. I've been teaching English and Math. What tough job! Kudos to all my teacher friends! Sometimes volunteers debate whether we are truly needed here since Ni-Vanuatu are subsistence farmers...live off the land, there are no starving children, no war but after experiencing the educational system, there is definitely a need. Those children that fall behind do not have much of a chance for extra help since teachers are lacking both in number and in teaching skills. (One volunteer told me about a teacher's math prob: 1/2 + 3/5 = 4/7 yikes)

The Rural Training Center has begun classes and we have about 10 students taking carpentry, home care, agriculture and business. I will be teaching some and primarily helping to make sure the foundation of the school is strong...mission statement, constitution, policies/procedures, budgeting, manager and teacher training.

The longest month...

December was a tough month in Paama (as prescribed by PC). Being away from home for the first time during the holidays and wonderful traditions. What I missed...Christmas trees, lights on houses, the hustle and bustle of downtown Chicago, candlelight service in Eden, visiting with families in NC, parties, watching Ivy and Kinley open presents, meals with my family, FOOD, and I even miss (just a little) the cold...kind of. It's the dead of summer in Vanuatu...I am forever hot and sweaty.


Paama was busy in December because it's their summer vaca which means time to rest and wedding celebrations, bride prices (similar to bridal shower) and other custom ceremonies. Lots of "swimming in powder"...yes baby powder. During weddings and celebrations baby powder is sprinkled, more like poured on people as a blessing. It's pretty comical when everyone is shaking baby powder...black man turned white man in Vanuatu. Pics to come.


I was a bridesmaid for my cousin brother and wore a whie, lacy island dress with a dab of baby powder and smear of lipstick on my cheeks...blush, I guess. The flower girls and bride wore 80's style dresses and we walked to the church being serenaded by a youth singing group. The ceremony was Presbyterian but the wedding was nothing like the productions we typically have back in the U.S. There was no rehearsal or order to it, less stressful really. Cake right after the ceremony and then lunch...a big stew of freshly butcher cow with veggies and noodles. Two cows were butchered and without refridgeration must be eaten in the next day or so. I did not partake in the cow but the cake was yummy.


There was a dance party that evening...a generator was brought to the nakamal (meeting location for all villages and place for kava) near my house and 4 of the same songs played over and over again. Drinking is a bit taboo here because men getting a little cranky (crazy) and want to fight and cause raucous. I danced with the Mamas and watched the belligerent guys late into the night.


New Year in Paama...A custom here for New Year is Bon Ani (Good year in French). I kept thinking they were saying Punany :) People from each village walk to other villages and sing...a New Years caroling, if you will. They sing custom songs, chant, dance and yes, swim in baby powder and spray scent. Stayed up dancing yet again to the same 4 songs.


Happy 2009.